Losing weight is hard. And keeping it off once you’ve lost it–that’s probably even harder. Just ask Oprah.

So maybe those of us who are overweight or obese should simply focus on not gaining more weight than we’ve already gained. Surely that’s easier. Right?

Well, not long ago a group of researchers ran a study testing several ways to keep overweight people from becoming obese. They recruited adults, less than 35 years of age, who were either overweight or teetering on becoming overweight. The goal was to keep them from gaining more weight. In an effort to achieve that goal, they tested a range of interventions:

First, there was the control group. The researchers basically left this group alone, to see how much weight they would gain.

Finally, there was the large changes group, which in addition to these first two interventions also received a third nudge–they were persuaded that in order to avoid long-term weight gain, they should first attempt to lose a few pounds.

The result? The most intensive intervention worked–the folks who worked hard to lose weight at the beginning of the study didn’t gain weight over the three-year period. However, they also didn’t keep off the weight that they lost in the beginning, and were gaining weight rapidly enough by the end of the study that it’s easy to imagine them catching up, soon, with the other groups. The accompanying picture shows the disappointing results of these interventions:

JAMA Internal Medicine

Innovative Self-Regulation Strategies to Reduce Weight Gain in Young Adults